WORKSPACE GUIDE · REVIEWED 13 SEPTEMBER 2026
Review business details before collecting tax
Use Settings for the seller’s business and tax configuration, and Connections for accounting. Check the buyer’s country, invoice and payment rail when reviewing an order. The workspace changes how you reach these settings; it does not change registrations, tax obligations or existing purchaser rights.
01 — The automatic part
What is automatic
Turn on Collect tax at checkout and Stripe Tax works out the rate from where the buyer is and what you are registered for, on your account and your registrations. Bumps are taxed with the sale. Tax is calculated after any discount, so a coupon reduces the taxable amount rather than being taken off the tax-inclusive total.
02 — The control
Per-region postures
Each region can be set to one of three postures. Four regions are recognised: the EU, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
| Posture | What happens |
|---|---|
| charge_all (default) | Tax consumers; reverse-charge verified businesses. This is what every region does until you change it. |
| business_only | Sell only to businesses that genuinely reverse-charge. A consumer in that region is refused at the payment, not after it. |
| off | Never calculate tax for that region. |
charge_all no matter what is stored — so the setting is inert rather than half-applied. The pack is a $95 one-time add-on on the Free plan, and it is included in the $99/month plan.03 — The B2B case
B2B reverse charge
Some cross-border business purchases qualify for reverse charge, where the buyer accounts for the tax. A valid tax number alone is not enough; eligibility depends on the transaction. GoCushy enforces that server-side at every payment path: one-time card, Airwallex, subscriptions, and PayPal on both create and capture. A gate on one path is a hole a buyer drives through, so it is deliberately on all of them.
Set a region to business_only and the block admits a buyer only when Stripe confirms the sale was genuinely reverse-charged. It is not a checkbox that trusts a typed VAT number.
04 — The paperwork
Invoices
Every paid sale can carry a sequential invoice number — using your configured prefix and numbering sequence. Review the information and any local invoicing or electronic-invoicing requirements that apply to your business.
Invoices file themselves to Xero or QuickBooks if you connect one. Numbering and accounting both come with the pack.
05 — The line
What stays yours
Where you must register is yours and your accountant's. The software calculates and collects against registrations you have told it about; it does not know your thresholds, it does not watch them, and it will not tell you when you have crossed one. Nor does it file your return.
Selling in the EU
VAT calculation and OSS are different jobs
GoCushy uses your connected Stripe account and Stripe Tax setup for supported calculations. The EU is recognised as a tax region across all 27 member countries, but rates and treatment vary by location and supply. The business-only setting verifies EU VAT numbers through VIES and requires confirmed reverse charge; an unavailable verification blocks that purchase for retry.
The general tax calculation can be unavailable when Stripe Tax is not activated or a calculation fails. Do not interpret a zero-tax order as proof that the sale is exempt. Confirm your setup and review a test purchase before taking live orders.
GoCushy does not register you for VAT or OSS, monitor your registration thresholds, or submit and pay returns. The €10,000 threshold has specific eligibility conditions and is not a general exemption for every seller or service. Read the European Commission’s OSS guidance and our EU overview.
An NZ seller may have a qualifying zero-rated export for NZ GST and still need to account for tax in the buyer’s country. Product currency and landing-page region do not determine that treatment.
06 — Diagnosis
If something looks wrong
No tax on any sale. Either tax collection is off, or you hold no registration covering that buyer's location.
My region posture appears to do nothing. Postures need the pack; without it everything is charge_all.
A business buyer was still charged tax. Stripe did not confirm a valid reverse-charge for that sale. The gate admits on confirmation, not on a typed number.
An upsell was taxed oddly. Check the rail — correct upsell tax is card-only.
No invoice number. Sequential numbering comes with the pack.
07 — Next
Where to go next
Getting paid, filing to Xero or QuickBooks, or EU withdrawal and GDPR.